< Daniel 11 >

1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I myself came to support and protect Michael.
“And so, from the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood firm, so that he might be reinforced and strengthened.
2 Now I will tell you the truth. Three kings will arise in Persia, and a fourth will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
And now I will announce to you the truth. Behold, up to a certain point, three kings will stand in Persia, and the fourth will be exceedingly enriched in power above them all. And when he has grown strong by his resources, he will stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.
3 A mighty king will rise up who will rule a very great kingdom, and he will act according to his desires.
But there will rise up a strong king, and he will rule with great power, and he will do what he pleases.
4 When he has risen up, his kingdom will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his own descendants, and not with his power when he had been ruling. For his kingdom will be uprooted for others besides his descendants.
And when he has been firmly established, his kingdom will be shattered and will be divided towards the four winds of the heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his kingdom will be torn to pieces, even for the outsiders who have been expelled from these.
5 The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his kingdom with great power.
And the king of the South will be reinforced, yet one of his leaders will prevail over him, and he will rule with riches, for great is his domain.
6 After a few years, when the time is right, they will make an alliance. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to confirm the agreement. But she will not keep her arm's strength, nor will he stand, or his arm. She will be abandoned—she and those who brought her, and her father, and the one who supported her in those times.
And after the end of years, they will form a federation, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make friendship, but she will not obtain the strength of arms, neither will her offspring stand firm, and she will be handed over, along with those who brought her, her young men, and those who comforted her in these times.
7 But a branch from her roots will rise up in her place. He will attack the army and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will fight them, and he will conquer them.
And a transplant from the germination of her roots will stand up, and he will come with an army, and will enter into the province of the king of the North, and he will abuse them, and will hold it fast.
8 He will carry off to Egypt their gods along with their cast metal figures and their precious vessels of silver and of gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North.
And, in addition, he will carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and their graven images, and likewise their precious vessels of gold and silver. He will prevail against the king of the North.
9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South, but he will withdraw to his own land.
And the king of the South will enter into the kingdom, and will return to his own land.
10 His sons will get ready and assemble a great army. It will keep coming and will flood everything; it will pass through all the way to his fortress.
But his sons will be challenged, and they will assemble a multitude of very many forces. And he will arrive rushing and overflowing. And he will be turned back, and he will be enraged, and he will join the battle in his redness.
11 Then the king of the South will become very angry; he will go and fight against him, the king of the North. The king of the North will raise up a great army, but the army will be given into his hand.
And the king of the South, having being challenged, will go forth and will fight against the king of the North, and he will prepare an exceedingly great multitude, and a multitude will be given into his hand.
12 The army will be carried off, and the heart of the king of the South will be lifted up, and he will make tens of thousands to fall, but he will not be victorious.
And he will seize a multitude, and his heart will be exalted, and he will cast down many thousands, but he will not prevail.
13 Then the king of the North will raise up another army, greater than the first. After some years, the king of the North will surely come with a great army supplied with much equipment.
For the king of the North will change strategy and will prepare a multitude much greater than before, and at the end of times and years, he will rush forward with a great army and exceedingly great resources.
14 In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Sons of the violent among your people will set themselves in order to fulfill a vision, but they will stumble.
And in those times, many will rise up against the king of the South. And likewise the sons of the deceivers among your people will extol themselves, so as to fulfill the vision, and they will collapse.
15 The king of the North will come, pour out earth for siege mounds, and capture a city with fortifications. The forces of the South will not be able to stand, not even their best soldiers. There will be no strength to stand.
And the king of the North will arrive and will transport siege works, and he will seize the most fortified cities. And the arms of the South will not withstand him, and his elect will rise up to resist, but the strength will not.
16 Instead, the one who comes will act according to his desires against him; no one will stand in his way. He will stand in the land of beauty, and destruction will be in his hand.
And when he arrives, he will do just as he pleases, and there will be none who stand against his face. And he will stand in the illustrious land, and it will be consumed by his hand.
17 The king of the North will set his face to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and with him will be an agreement that he will make with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter of women in marriage to ruin the kingdom of the South. But the plan will not succeed or help him.
And he will set his face to strive to hold his entire kingdom, and he will make fair conditions with him. And he will give him a daughter among women, so as to overthrow it. But she will not stand, neither will she be for him.
18 After this, the king of the North will pay attention to the coastlands and will capture many of them. But a commander will end his arrogance and will cause his arrogance to turn back upon him.
And he will turn his face towards the islands, and he will seize many. And he will cause the leader of his reproach to cease, and his reproach will be turned around for him.
19 Then he will pay attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall; he will not be found.
And he will turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he will strike, and will overthrow, but he will not succeed.
20 Then someone will rise up in his place who will make a tax collector pass through for the sake of the splendor of the kingdom. But in the next days he will be broken, but not in anger or in battle.
And there will stand up in his place one who is most worthless and unworthy of kingly honor. And in a short time, he will be worn out, but not in fury, nor in battle.
21 In his place will rise up a despised person to whom the people will not have given the honor of royal power; he will come unexpectedly and will take over the kingdom by trickery.
And there will stand up in his place the despicable one, and he will not be assigned the honor of a king. And he will arrive in secret, and he will obtain the kingdom by deceitfulness.
22 An army will be swept away like a flood from before him. Both that army and the leader of the covenant will be destroyed.
And the arms of the fighting will be assaulted before his face and will be shattered, and, in addition, the leader of the federation.
23 From the time an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; with only a small number of people he will become strong.
And, after making friends, he will trick him, and he will go up and will overcome with a small people.
24 Without warning he will come into the richest part of the province, and he will do what neither his father nor his father's father did. He will spread among his followers the booty, the plunder, and the wealth. He will plan the overthrow of fortresses, but only for a time.
And he will enter into rich and resourceful cities, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and will form a plan against the most steadfast, and this until a time.
25 He will wake up his power and his heart against the king of the South with a great army. The king of the South will wage war with a large, very powerful army, but he will not stand because others will make plots against him.
And his strength and his heart will be enraged against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South will be provoked into going to war by having many allies and exceedingly good circumstances, and yet these will not stand, for they will form plans against him.
26 Even those who eat his fine food will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away like a flood, and many of them will fall killed.
And those who eat bread with him will crush him, and his army will be suppressed, and very many will die, having been executed.
27 Both these kings, with their hearts set on evil against each other, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but it will be of no use. For the end will come at the time that has been fixed.
And the heart of two kings will be similar, to do harm, and they will speak lies at one table, but they will not succeed, because as yet the end is for another time.
28 Then the king of the North will go back into his land with great riches, with his heart set against the holy covenant. He will act and then will return to his own land.
And he will return to his land with many resources. And his heart will be against the holy testament, and he will act, and he will return to his own land.
29 At the appointed time he will return and come against the South again. But this time it will not be as before.
At the appointed time, he will return, and he will approach the South, but the latter time will not be like the former.
30 For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will become afraid and will turn back. He will be furious against the holy covenant, and he will show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
And the Greek warships and the Romans will come upon him, and he will be pierced, and will retreat, and will have scorn against the testament of the sanctuary, and he will act. And he will return and will consult their adversaries, who have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.
31 His forces will rise up and profane the fortress sanctuary. They will take away the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
And arms will take his side, and they will pollute the sanctuary of the strength, and they will take away the continual sacrifice and will replace it with the abomination of desolation.
32 As for those who acted wickedly against the covenant, he will deceive them and corrupt them. But the people who know their God will be strong and will take action.
And the impious within the testament will imitate deceitfully, but the people, knowing their God, will persevere and will act.
33 The wise among the people will make many understand. But they will stumble by the sword and by flame; they will stumble into captivity and into being robbed for days.
And the teachers among the people will teach many, but they will be ruined by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by assaults for many days.
34 In their stumbling, they will be helped with a little help. In hypocrisy many will join themselves with them.
And when they have fallen, they will be supported with a little help, but many will apply to them deceitfully.
35 Some of the wise will stumble so that refining will happen to them, and cleansing, and purifying, until the time of the end. For the appointed time is still to come.
And some of the learned will be ruined, that they may be kindled and chosen and purified, up to the predetermined time, because there will be still another time.
36 The king will act according to his desires. He will lift himself up and make himself great above every god. Against the God of gods he will say astonishing things, for he will succeed until the wrath is completed. For what has been decreed will be done.
And the king will act according to his will, and he will be lifted up and will be extolled against every god. And he will speak great things against the God of gods, and he will control, until the passion is completed. Once accomplished, the limit is reached with certainty.
37 He will pay no attention to the gods of his ancestors or to the god desirable to women. Neither will he will pay attention to any other god. For all above every one he will make himself great.
And he will give no thought to the God of his fathers, and he will be in the desire of women, and he will not attend to any gods, because he will rise up against all things.
38 He will honor the god of fortresses instead of these. It is a god whom his fathers did not acknowledge that he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and valuable gifts.
But he will do homage to the god Maozim in his place, and, a god whom his fathers did not know, he will worship with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and costly things.
39 He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. To anyone who acknowledges him, he will give much honor. He will make them rulers over many people, and he will divide up the land as a reward.
And he will act to reinforce Maozim with an alien god, of whom he has become aware, and he will increase their glory, and will give them power over many, and he will distribute land for free.
40 At the time of the end the king of the South will attack. The king of the North will storm against him with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He will go against lands, flood them, and pass through.
And, at the predetermined time, the king of the South will fight against him, and the king of the North will come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great fleet, and he will enter into the lands, and will crush and pass through.
41 He will go into the land of beauty, and tens of thousands of Israelites will fall. But these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the remainder of the people of Ammon.
And he will enter into the glorious land, and many will fall. But only these will be saved from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the first part of the sons of Ammon.
42 He will extend his hand into lands; the land of Egypt will not be rescued.
And he will cast his hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt will not escape.
43 He will have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; the Libyans and the Cushites will be in his footsteps.
And he will rule over the treasure chests of gold, and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and likewise he will pass through Libya and Ethiopia.
44 But news from the east and the north will frighten him, and he will go out with great rage to completely destroy and to set many apart for destruction.
And rumors from the East and from the North will trouble him. And he will arrive with a great multitude to destroy and to execute many.
45 He will set up the tent of his royal residence between the seas and the mountain of the beauty of holiness. He will come to his end, and there will be no helper for him.
And he will fasten his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon an illustrious and holy mountain, and he will come even to its summit, and no one will help him.”

< Daniel 11 >